The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-02-16

the please everybody face of Justice Wiggle-
waggle, as ho was called, was not TO be seen
This was no. a court Of law, but rough and
tumble arena of justice. We had been march
ing for hour " hen the leader suddenly
turned from the pike and we entered n strip
of woods, which divided Y from its agricul-
tural ckground. 1t a delightful rem
nant of ancient forest, AMI as we tramped
beneath the branches and clambered over the
fallen trunks of the trees, were greeted
with the call of the night owl and the invisi-
BILE scampering about of its winged denizens
We finally reached open space, where a
| few Siplinrs grew among the stumps of their
gigantic predecessors, and here Judge L. held
his court
As l scanned rather hastily the crowd,
was vividly impressed with two facts, viz =,
that we are a martial people, and that in
| spite of the constant failures in the court
room still love justice. Some had mus
kets which had been "out in 1SI2" and the
Mexican wnr, others double barreled squirrel
shooting, others again swords which had gilt
tereS, at many a militia parade, but the ma
| jority had bright, new navy revolvers- That
| we loved justice was equally apparent from
the zeal with which the culprit was guarded
and the determination that he should pay tue
| penalty Of his nisdced
Owing u the passing of the clouds which
| constantly obscured the nlOnn-the titful and
uncertain light OF the hand lamps Carried by
| tn. crowd, tile laudabbH desire of each patrI-
OF to be in the front, and my own equally
praiseworthy des ire To be- in the background
| Il cannot go very accurately into the de
tails of this tribunal of the people, but will
! come as close To- the facts aS the excitement
and surrounding circumstances VIII permit
| In the first place the hitherto ticIturu mob
| suddenly broke into al angry sea oil oaths
and shouts and there u rushing back
ward and forward, and here and there the
report of "A pistol showing that there was
| iiv itted court even III the temple OF Judge
Lynch One group, however, had thrown
rope over the top of a young sapllng, anu
| while brawny arms sijusteti a knot or. 1t ami
| bent liz towards the earth, other brawny arms
and violent hands We're dragging Bill on his
| knees towards the moose, valnly struggling
! and begging for mercy.
! See here boys" suddenly said the leader,
who was either presiding judge or prosecutor
pro tenn, rs he blew Il flake of snow off the
| barrel of his rifle, aren't we going u trifie
| too fast! There two ways of doing
| thing-and we needn't initiate him in that
| partikIer Has Bill confessedf Ii he hain't
| whar's the edentiticatiOn.' What shouted
one who was Juggling at the impromptu gal
lows, DO you suppose that / am going To
| hold this tree down all night|
| why, Tom him kill Berry AMI the CON
|
! And here's Matt and Nate seed him shoot
theDutchman. Why, Long Jim, what is the
| matter with yous" cried still another.
| Oh, yes, there was plenty of proof! How
| prompt and swift were tho witnesses ami how
| full and responsive their memories. Old
! friends and new ones, companions and enc
mics, stool up and poured out their knowl-
! edge against the hunted and craven creature,
| and unfoIded his character idler, hummer,
was true there was no Mallory Jock To bully
and hector them i'll IA called cross examina-
ton; nor Judge Wigglewaggle To frown
! upon the stupid and smile upon the iInpudent
and bold, and no sympathetic fringe OF PEG
| pie who love to help the under dog. But
| probably the one circumstance which told
| most strongly against him in the leaders
| mind the crouchinS attitude and the
heartrending appeals for mercy.
| This satisfied even Long Jim Of the truth
of the charges, and he rested his rifle upon the
ground, and with gesture, invited the exc
| cutioners to perform the peoples idea of jus
! tice, which they did with a frenzied shout of
| joy.
| But this was a night of surprises. Amid
the yelling, struggling and swearing there
\ arose the cry of Sheriff! Sheriff. and the
! crowd opened and for few minutes paused,
| listened and looked eagerly toward the pike.
/ cure enough, Tue Spuiiu VI u
ing horse could be distinctly heard coming
near and nearer, and in another moment
| white horse hearing the county officer clashes
recklessly through the crowd, which opens to
| let him i'll and then closes behind him
MAKE way, hold ON, stand back" cried the
burly rider waving his revolver and align
ing close To the prisoner, whom he wreuched
! from the grasp of the fellows holding the sap
ling down. I'll shoot the first man that
moves. This is my man In the name of the
| commonwealth arrest"-
He did not finish the sentence, for suddenly
| there passed above his head formidable piece
| of wood, and then the sheriff. his slouched
| hat and pocket>Gun We're knocked in three
different directions, and the bg, stalwart
| officer fell with such force upon the ground
that il was several seconds before lie turned
| over, rose upon his knees, and rubbed his
! head and shoulder and looked around i'll a
| confused way for the supposed thunderbolt
which hal struck him.
''Georgey my boy" said one OF the laugh
| ing bystanders rs the dazed sheriff brushed
| the dirt from his face and felt on the ground
| for his revolver, don't you know il Is a con
tempt of court to interrupt il with Your circus
business. Be mum, now, dye hear-and shet
| your eyes and ears, or you'll get worse nor
| that"
! The sheriff took the hint, for he crawled
aside 10 the stump OF q tree, ana crou'hlllS
behind it, watched slyly the sinister proceed
ings.
\ But another man had been watching the
unexpected interruption and saw in it the
one golden opportunity of his life, AMI this
was the prisoner The man that held him
| had been knocked down by the reckless rider,
and the horse was standing tossing its head
within two feet of him. Bill saw his chance,
and i'll a flash mounted the horse, Crouched
| almost flat ON the name, and struck boldly out
| for liberty.
As he plunged beneath the branches, and
| shot past the trees, running fire of pistol
shots followed him, scattering the bark and
| branches, but missing the fugitive in the OBJ
scurity, who kicked, tugged, and dashed the
frightened horse into wild leaps and plunges.
To me this was better than the deus ex ma